Macmillan and Cancerbackup merger

Macmillan Cancer Support and Cancerbackup merged in April 2008 – furthering the aims of both charities to ensure that, across the UK, everyone affected by cancer gets faster and enhanced access to high-quality information at every stage of their cancer journey.

Today, all of our information has the highest level of quality assurance. Our Clinical Advisory Board is led by Professor Tim Eisen, Professor of Oncology at the University of Cambridge, and all patient information is accredited by the NHS.

Cancerbackup was founded in 1985 by Vicky Clement-Jones, who, even as a doctor, found herself shocked and confused when she was diagnosed with cancer. Appalled by the lack of information available to cancer patients, Vicky Clement-Jones set up Cancerbackup to ‘kick cancer out of the closet’. She produced information booklets specifically written for cancer patients, and the charity grew into the UK’s leading cancer information charity providing over 70 publications and a helpline staffed by cancer specialist nurses. Viewed as a lifeline by hundreds of thousands of cancer patients each year, Cancerbackup prided itself on being able to answer any question on any cancer.

Cancerbackup’s exemplary reputation for providing high quality information, through its award-winning publications and website and specialist nurse helpline, lives on today through its merger with Macmillan.

The merger has enabled Macmillan to provide comprehensive high quality, expertly developed information about cancer, and make it available to everyone who needs it. Our vision is for all people affected by cancer to have the information they want, when they want it and in a format they are comfortable with - and this is what we’ve been working towards since the merger. We now offer all former Cancerbackup information publications free of charge, not just to patients and their families, but to health and social care professionals too. You can order them through our be.macmillan website.

The website brings together the best of both sites, offering extensive cancer information, support services and the UK’s largest online cancer community.

Cancerbackup’s Cancer Information Nurse Specialists and Macmillan’s helplines have been brought together to create a new phone service. You can now ask one of our cancer support specialists any questions on any cancer, get emotional and practical support or benefits advice, simply by calling one number.

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Do you have a question for our cancer support specialists? If you want to, you can complete our online form to give us the information we need to answer you. We’ll attempt to reply within two working days.

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We make every effort to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and up-to-date but it should not be relied upon as a substitute for specialist professional advice tailored to your situation. So far as is permitted by law, Macmillan does not accept liability in relation to the use of any information contained in this publication or third party information or websites included or referred to in it.